29 November 2022

• Principal's Report
• Library News
  
• Moments in Maths
  
• Waniora HPAG Class
  
• 2022/2023 NSW term and vacation dates
  
• Canteen and uniform shop
  
• Community News
• Contact Us

As is always the case, at this time of year, the next few days and weeks will be extremely busy. Year 6 will be coming and going, with the Year 6 to 7 transition day today, Jamberoo and Year 6 Farewell on the horizon, along with other whole school events. The K-6 Picnic Day and the Talent Show and much more will certainly see the remaining time at school fly by. Please make sure that you are across the events that are occurring, as it will impact many students and families. Information has been distributed to those students involved and can also be found on the Parent Portal.

On Tuesday 13 December, we will be holding our annual Presentation Day, where assemblies have been divided into specific times for specific years. In all assemblies, we celebrate the 2022 successes of Woonona Public School, of which there have been many, with our school community. Letters have been sent to families who have children receiving an award. They should be received in the coming days if this applies to your child. We look forward to seeing many families at our end of year presentations, to celebrate what has been a very successful year.

Good luck to Chiara, Abbie, Natahlia, Mia, Zoe, Mikayla, Lennox, Ryan, Lachlan, Flynn, Isaac and Max who, this Friday, will be presenting their speeches in pursuit of a school leader positions for 2023. I look forward to listening to the students reflect on their experiences at Woonona Public School and the qualities and values they have learnt and will bring to their roles, if successful. The 2023 School Leaders will be announced on our Presentation Day.

Our Admin renovation is almost complete, with the internal finished and a few remaining jobs to complete externally. Last week, the internal of the building was handed over to our school, with a majority of fencing also coming down on Friday. Whilst this is exciting, we have no plans to open this block until next year. The last few weeks of a school year are the busiest and for this reason, we will maintain our current placement of staff and work during the holidays to be up and running for the beginning of 2023. Below are a few snap shots of what is a brilliant new space that is so much more functional for our school now and into the future.

I would like to congratulate Mrs Hayley Banzon who recently announced to staff that she is pregnant with her second child. Mrs Banzon will work for the remainder of this year and Term 1 of next year, in a support role, before going on maternity leave. This is very special and exciting news, and we wish her, and her growing family, all the best.

PSSA Sport finished at the end of Week 6, and I would like to congratulate our students on their attitude throughout the three weeks. Not only were our students’ great sports, but I also heard very positive reports on their behaviour and attitude, as representatives of our school. Well done to everyone involved and a big thank you to our teachers who organised to have nearly 400 students off site and attending different sports against different opposition.

Yesterday, our Kindergarten students and teachers ventured to the Science Centre, where they had a wonderful day of learning. What an exciting time for our youngest students, who experienced their first off site activity. Well done Kindy! A big thank you to our teachers who coordinated this worthwhile event. Such a fantastic experience for our students.

A reminder that our P&C Santa Photo fundraiser is being held this Thursday 1 December. It’s a chance for families to come together and get a special photo, whilst raising funds for our school. A big thank you to our organising parents who once again are providing a fantastic opportunity for our community. The link for registering your interest in having your photo done can be found at: https://forms.gle/wh1FwWCnfn94BRYCA

In order to have accurate numbers for next year, it is important to notify the school office if you know your child will not be returning to Woonona Public School next year (other than Year 6). This information helps us to plan for 2023.

Alternatively, if you know of friends or family members who intend to enrol their children in Woonona Public School in 2023, please ask them to contact the school office to fill in the necessary documentation.

We still have one more date allocated for our P&C to meet, which is Wednesday 14 December. This is not a meeting as such but a celebratory Christmas dinner. Woonona Bulli RSL has been booked for 6:30pm and we encourage those wishing to attend to come along for what is always a relaxing and enjoyable night. If you are wishing to attend, please email enquiries@wppc.com.au

Reports happen twice per year at all public schools in NSW. Our staff have written extensive reports that cover all Key Learning Areas. These subjects have all been assessed through a range of techniques, with students’ abilities compared to relevant syllabus outcomes for each Stage of learning.

Remember:

• Teachers plan teaching and learning cycles using syllabuses developed by the NSW Education Standards Authority.
• The syllabuses describe standards that apply across the state for each learning area.
• Your child’s teacher uses their knowledge of syllabuses and knowledge of the children in their class to plan their teaching and learning cycles.
• Teachers use their professional judgement, internal and external data gathering about each child’s achievement against the statewide standards to award the grade.

If your child has achieved a Sound on their report, then he/she has achieved what is generally expected. If your child has achieved a High or Outstanding, then he/she has achieved more than is generally expected. If your child has achieved a Limited or Basic, then he/she has not yet achieved what is generally expected compared to other children of a similar age.

Mr Tim Fisher

Principal

The Library will be closed weeks 9-10 for stock-take so all student loans will need to be returned by the end of this week. Overdue notices will be sent out this week. Please take the time to help your child locate and return their books.

If you received an overdue loan notice and the book is lost, please let us know so it can be wiped from our system. Notices will also list the book price which parents can pay to the office for purchase of a replacement copy. If you receive an overdue notice and the book has already been paid for previously or has already been returned, please send the slip back in with this noted down. Our Library computer system will automatically create notices for any overdue books from this year. Thank you to those students who have already returned books or notified me about lost books.

Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.

Mrs Carroll

Librarian

Students in Stage 2 have been learning about mass over the past week. Below are some photos of their experiences!

Mass is how ‘heavy’ an object is and describes the amount of ‘matter’ in the object. Ella brainstormed all the words associated with Mass.

We can use hefting (which is testing the weight of an object by lifting and balancing it) to identify objects that have a mass of 'more than', 'less than' and 'about the same as' one kilogram. We can order from ‘greatest’ to ‘least’ in mass just like Bodhi, Emerson, Ethan D, Fletcher and Xanthe have done here.

Once we get an idea of the weight of 1kg and how it compares to how light 1g feels, we can start to estimate the mass of classroom objects. Archie, Noah and Tahnee found that objects with a mass of one kilogram can be a variety of shapes and sizes.

Using their knowledge that 1000g = 1kg, they used kitchen scales to check their estimates of many different items.

Chloe, Halle and Vincent A also tested their estimations for the mass of common objects. They weren’t too far off either!

Felicity realised that she can combine many items to make a mass of exactly 1kg.

Students in 3/4A invited Mrs Brown in to see their ‘mass measuring’ in progress. Mr Argaet’s mass rotations sure were a lot of fun! Who would have thought 1 cup of sultanas would have a mass equal to 1 cup of rice? Both measured 200g!

Ranajay, Matt, Jason and Noah used their knowledge of place value to convert between grams and kilograms.

Ben worked out that a 1.5m trail of $2 coins is worth more than 1kg of $1 coins! Matthew and Lewis researched the mass of some ‘jumbo’ animals!

Payton and Jed are proud to share their post-tests!

All in all, we have had a lot of fun, estimating, measuring and comparing the mass of different items this week! We have also learnt important skills in collaboration and problem solving!

Thank you for sharing our Maths journey. In the next newsletter, K-2 learning will feature. Stay tuned!

In Week 5 of this term, the High Performing and Academically Gifted (HPAG) classes across the Illawarra, celebrated a fantastic 25-week program of learning by hosting End-of-Year Exhibitions of their work. The 2022 Waniora HPAG class, which included students from Waniora, Woonona, Thirroul and Woonona East Public Schools, were all thrilled to show some of the amazing learning they had been a part of this year.

Visiting primary and high school Principals & teachers, parents & carers and other special guests were treated to exhibits that were constructed with creativity, deep knowledge and careful organisation. They were able to engage in the learning through film trailers, animations, soundscapes, models, information posters, quizzes, dioramas, The favourite part for many was the class performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The students demonstrated a deep understanding of the story and characters through their dramatic vocal and facial expressions.

A massive thank you to the organising Principals, host schools and participating schools, who make this program possible.

Ms Erin Lam

HPAG Teacher

Onsite uniform shop closed until further notice.

Online orders can be placed on the QuickCliq website

Please be aware that there are students in our school with allergies to nuts. We ask that you give consideration to voluntarily agreeing not to send nut products, in particular peanuts and peanut butter to school.